American Red Cross postcard

This postcard is part of a wider trend of sending picture postcards during World War I. The image on the front shows soldiers eating and reading mail at a Red Cross Canteen in France. The short message is a sweet note from an absentee serviceman to his baby daughter in New York wishing her lots of love.

This postcard was issued by the American Red Cross. Alongside other non-profit organizations such as the Jewish Welfare Board, the YMCA, the Knights of Columbus and the Salvation Army, the Red Cross issued stationery free of charge to servicemen stationed abroad to promote correspondence between servicemen and their loved ones. The military supported this initiative as it was widely believed to increase morale. Like other military mail, messages written on this charitable stationery could be mailed free of charge and were subject to censorship.

References

Sanford, Hennen M. The Mail of the A.E.F. American Expeditionary Forces. The American Philatelic Society, Maryland, 1940.